Good news to cocoa lovers! Consuming cocoa in dark chocolate or cocoa powder is a powerful and delightful way to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and prediabetes.  And this is backed by scientific researches.

Chocolate’s polyphenols, particularly its flavanols, act in numerous ways to influence the health of the heart and blood vessels, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes and other cardiovascular diseases, lowering blood pressure, and improving cholesterol levels.

Cocoa powder is produced by crushing cocoa beans and removing the fat or cocoa butter.  Today, cocoa is mostly used in the production of chocolate.  Modern research has revealed that it does indeed contain important compounds that can benefit your health.

Cocoa is one of the richest sources of polyphenols. It’s especially abundant in flavanols, which have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

Polyphenols are naturally occurring antioxidants found in foods like fruits, vegetables, tea, chocolate and wine. They have been linked to numerous health benefits, including reduced inflammation, better blood flow, lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

However, processing and heating cocoa can cause it to lose its beneficial properties. It’s also often treated with alkaline to reduce bitterness, which results in a 60% decrease in flavanol content.  So while cocoa is a great source of polyphenols, not all products containing cocoa will provide the same benefits.

In a study conducted by the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, it was reported that regular consumption of cocoa powder with milk increases HDL cholesterol and reduces oxidized LDL levels in subjects at high-risk of cardiovascular disease.

Groundbreaking results, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, confirmed what many studies had previously concluded—that chocolate and cocoa have statistically significant effects on the following risk factors for cardiovascular disease:

• • improve the functioning of blood vessels (endothelial function)
  • reduce insulin resistance
  • reduce blood pressure
  • reduce triglycerides
  • reduce LDL cholesterol
  • increase HDL cholesterol

What Type of Chocolate Offers Cocoa Benefits?

Generally, the darker the chocolate, the greater the health benefits; dark chocolate contains higher levels of flavonoids, which are a class of antioxidants that can protect our cells from damage and reduce inflammation.

The type of chocolate/cocoa used in the studies included cocoa drinks, dark chocolate, and cocoa supplements. The total amount of chocolate and cocoa per day varied considerably between studies. Some of the chocolate and cocoa in the studies were “enriched” with extra flavanols, some was not. Generally, the higher the flavanol levels, the better the outcomes. But at least some studies show that plain dark chocolate is just as effective in terms of blood vessel health as the special chocolate/cocoa enhanced with extra flavanols.

So what kinds of or how much dark chocolate or cocoa do you need to consume in order to reap substantial cocoa benefits? At this point, no one knows exactly. But many researchers and clinicians agree that you do not need to buy the special flavanol-enriched chocolate or cocoa. Regular dark chocolate of at least 70 percent cocoa or cocoa powder, preferably organic and fair trade, will likely do just fine. As for how much to eat, around 40 to 50 grams (about 1.5 to 2 ounces) of dark chocolate (70 to 85 percent cocoa) roughly coincides with the amounts associated with therapeutic effects in studies.  However, even just a small square of dark chocolate 2 to 3 times a week is beneficial for heart health. Besides dark chocolate, you can also increase your intake of other flavanol-rich foods like tea and berries for additional benefits.